Initiations are a Bitch
by dajainsana
Summary: It's been a few months after Jackson returned from his lizardly state, and Derek has decided to formally induct the betas, and the humans, into the pack. This means that Stiles, Lydia, and Danny, who have all found out about werewolves, are going to be participating in some way. Stiles doesn't know what to think. And lack of sleep the night before? Not a good beginning to his day.
1. Mornings and Coffee

Stiles first became aware of the day when the sun shone directly into his eyes. He whined and put one of his multitudes of pillows over his eyes to shield them from the offending light. The smell of coffee less than a foot from his trusty nose made him open his eyes minutely to discover his best friend in the entire world, Scott, holding Stiles' favorite mug filled with the delicious Hazelnut flavored liquid. The guy had a very sheepish look on his face while holding the slightly chipped Batman mug, like he was trying to apologize for something before he had even done it.

Moaning, Stiles turned over onto his back and sat up against his headboard, throwing the pillow that was over his face onto the floor and rubbing his eyes. Stiles glared at Scott after he glanced at his alarm clock, it reading 6:32 am. Stiles accepted the coffee as a kind of peace offering, making no protest when Scott sat down on the bed and waited patiently as Stiles drank his way through half the mug of caffeine giving liquid.

The wolf then could no longer contain himself. "You have been formally requested to attend the pack meeting this morning at 8. I have been instructed by the Alpha to deliver this invitation in person, so as the message could not go astray." Scott had the tone of one reciting from memory, looking annoying pleased with himself at his ability to remember everything correct. It must have taken the better part of an hour or two to get Scott to get it.

Stiles sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Scott—it isn't even 7. Why did you need me to wake up this early...?" Not that he begrudged his friend for making him get up so early. But Stiles had gone to bed at almost three this morning, and not getting even four hours of sleep for a Saturday? Not his ideal situation. Hence Scott bringing him coffee, he supposed, to wake him up and make sure he was properly fueled for the day ahead. Scott knew about Stiles' insomnia problems. Probably why he once again looked apologetic.

The beta fidgeted on the bed, not exactly meeting Stiles' eyes. "It's—well, it's a werewolf thing. While all the werewolves are pack members, there has been no official declaration. And—well, humans are essential to the pack, and pack dynamics, so Derek said—" Scott stopped talking at Stiles' glare. He then took a deep breath and continued. "Derek said that you should also be formally initiated into the pack so that if rival packs ever turn up, they would know you have the protection of our pack, so—"

"So what you are telling me is that we're going to have some sort of ceremony to formally initiate all you fuzzies into the pack, along with me and—I take it Lydia and Danny as well?" Scott nodded. "And Lydia and Danny, so that rival packs of fuzzies know that we're under the protection of said fuzzies being initiated." Stiles shook his head, bemoaning the fact he had such a strange life, and finished his coffee.

"Good grief." He set the empty mug on the side table and pushed Scott off the bed with his foot, flinging back the covers and stepping onto the cold wooden floor. He had been seriously meaning to get a rug for the floor. "Alright, I can be there. Just—let me shower first, okay? I'll meet you there."

Scott nodded. "It's at the Hale house. Eight sharp, okay? See you there." With that the wolf crawled out Stiles' open window. Stiles walked over and closed it, watching as Scott biked out of sight, thinking that he really needed to fix the lock on his window. He was a little tired of all the wolfy interruptions when he was trying to sleep...


	2. At the Hale House

Stiles arrived at the Hale House at 7:53 am by his watch, which was a little fast—on purpose. He sighed, sitting in his jeep, contemplating what was to come. Was there going to be some fighting rites? Pain or sex or chanting? It's not like Derek was especially forthcoming with his information about werewolf cultures or traditions. Every time Stiles had asked, he had been shot down. Either he would be growled at, or slammed into a wall , or both, which had the effect of just making Stiles babble about the fact that he was just growled at, or slammed into a wall , or both. Come to think about it, it was a pretty effective strategy to get him to stop asking questions.

He sighed again and opened the door of his jeep, stuffing his keys into his pocket and he fiddled with the zipper to his favorite hoodie— over sized and slightly worn and a deep red color. Stiles rubbed his head, thinking that he might need a haircut as his hair was getting long, and started plotting toward the newly renovated house. He glanced at the façade, smiling slightly.

The house looked almost nothing like itself. It was no longer a burned out shell. Instead, it was returned to its old glory, with some more modern updates with electrical and appliances. The siding was a fawn brown, with stone up the first third of the house. Stiles stepped closer, noticing other changes that he had yet to see in person. The porch was deeper, with a swing and other outdoor furniture. He nodded in approval, enjoying the fact that he could step on the porch and not be worried that it was going to cave in at any moment. That was always a terrifying thought.

On the door was a note taped to the wolf-head knocker, telling anyone who walked up to it that they were supposed to enter. Stiles chuckled at the irony of the knocker and opened the door. The inside was furnished, with art on the walls that was picked out by Lydia, furniture by Jackson, and electronics by Danny. All with Derek's approval, of course. Stiles noticed that the others were all congregating in the living room and went to join them. Isaac and Erica made room between them for Stiles, Erica cuddling into Boyd and Isaac turning, offering a cuddle to the tired human.

Stiles gave him a grateful smile and sat down, leaning his head on the beta's shoulder and closing his eyes. Stiles felt Isaac's arm wrap loosely around his shoulder, fingers tracing soft patterns into Stiles' shirt, and smiled slightly. Isaac was very touchy-feely—all the werewolves were, to some extent. It was one of those things he had come to expect and accept from them. It's not like he could stop them from doing it. And—Stiles really liked it, the casual intimacy within the pack. It comforted him, too. And it spoiled him from other friendships. Not that he had other friends, mind, but still.

Stiles opened his eyes as he heard Derek walk into the room, watching the Alpha with tired eyes. His bags had bags. Derek paused and looked over at Stiles and Isaac, raising one eyebrow at his beta. Isaac, soon followed by the rest, sat up straighter, dropping his arm from around Stiles' shoulder, turning to pay his full attention to his Alpha. Stiles sat up straighter as well, the three human in the room not on the same beat with the werewolves. _That could change_, Stiles thought, giving Derek a small, tired smile when the man looked at him.

Derek nodded again before speaking, glancing around at all assembled. "I feel like I have been neglecting part of your training. While I have been building up your physical and fighting knowledge, you have very little, even no, knowledge about how a cohesive pack runs, nor the cultural aspects, customs, traditions that come with being a werewolf." He turned and looked at Stiles, his slight smile both sheepish and sarcastic. It had been Stiles' suggestion, yelled over the phone last week, that Derek should be teaching them more that just how to 'claw each other's eyes out'. This comment had been made after the fifth time Isaac had come running to Stiles after practice, to huddle at his feet, trying to gain some comfort out of the human.

Derek looked away and continued. "Today that changes. While this task usually falls to the Alpha's mate, I have no mate, and am the only born werewolf here, therefore task falls to me." He looked over at Stiles again, eyes flicking away so fast that Stiles questioned whether or not it had actually happened.

"As true as your words are, nephew," Peter drawled from where he was leaning casually against the door frame, "You are not the only born werewolf here."

Derek didn't roll his eyes, but Stiles could tell he wanted to, suppressing a snicker of his own. The Alpha crossed his arms, resting his wait on one foot in a gesture of nonchalance. "I thought you didn't want to help with the 'bloody ignorant pups', as you put it, Peter," Derek noted, one eyebrow raised.

Peter sighed dramatically—seriously, was there anything he didn't do dramatically?—and flounced into the room sitting in the unoccupied chair furthest from the rest of the crowd. "True, and I still don't. But I know for a fact that you weren't taught everything. And how could you have known? You were young, and certain aspects of pack life were not discussed in front of you. So," Peter gestured at himself, "use me, use my knowledge."

Derek nodded curtly. "Very well, then. Peter with assist on the cultural instructions. Some things must be covered before initiation occurs. And after, twice a week I request that we have pack gatherings. One for training, one for instruction. Or half and half." Derek looked over at Peter who nodded, still with a smirk on his face.

"Oh, and one more thing, lovelies," Peter mused. "As the humans can't feel anything and don't have the same instincts the wolves have, I will be making you my—special projects." His eyes went from Danny to Stiles, finally settling on Lydia. "I trust you all will be good pupils."


	3. The Argument

It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.  
In fact, if there was a pin to drop, Stiles just might have dropped it. But that was silly. What wasn't were the varying expressions of shock and outrage from around the room. Stiles was a little shocked himself, though he seemed to be taking it better than Lydia, who didn't look so much SHOCKED as TERRIFIED. With all the mental torment Peter had put her through, Stiles wasn't surprised at her reaction.  
All at once, the other wolves in the room started protesting, except Derek, who was standing to the side, just watching. Lydia could be heard above it all, shrieking that she would NOT go near the creeper. Even Danny was making a noise of protest. Jackson must have told him about the guy. And yeah, Peter had done some bad things in the past, including killing Derek's sister, but the guy was trying to turn over a new leaf; or paw, as it were. Derek seemed to want him around, or at least didn't protest to his presence.  
After a while, Stiles got tired of the yelling and stood up. Everyone quieted immediately and turned to look at him. He took a deep breath and stuck his hands in his pockets, staring at Peter. "I consent," Stiles declared. He cleared his throat nervously as the others now had shocked expressions facing him. "What? You guys know how much I've wanted to learn more about werewolves than there freaky strength and such. So-I consent to extra learning. It's not like, as a human, that I'll be useful in a fight anyway. So-yeah."  
Derek just looked at the human, eyebrows quirking slightly, the only indication of surprise. He didn't think it would be that easy to convince the humans. But-he hadn't figured Stiles into his calculations. The kid was seriously a wild card. Unpredictable. Good.  
Derek looked over to the two other humans, Lydia still seemed terrified, but Jackson was muttering in her ear. Her eyes flicked from Peter to Danny to Stiles, then down at their clasped hands. Peter looked smug, leaning back in his chair, steepling his fingers as he watched the myriad of conversations happening.  
It wasn't just Lydia and Jackson. Scott had gotten up and pulled Stiles over to the side, arguing with him quietly. Danny had moved over to Lydia and Jackson, taking Lydia's other hand, whispering to her as well. The other three betas were talking amongst themselves, but that wasn't a surprise. They hadn't known Peter, from before. They had only recently met him, after his resurrection via Lydia.  
So it wasn't that surprising that they seemed to be a bit out of the loop, though Isaac kept throwing glances to Scott and Stiles, whining minutely. Derek sighed and stepped forward, clapping his hands together. All eyes turned to him.  
"I know there are protests, but they can wait til later. Today we officially initiate you lot into the pack. You will be closer and stronger than before, as Pack Bonds are essential to a Pack."  
Stiles nodded as Derek talked, gently pushing Scott down on the floor in his previous position, claiming Isaac's seat as the beta ha moved into his own. "SO I guessed," Stiles said with a roll of his eyes. "But that doesn't explain what this initiation is going to entail." Stiles put his arm around Isaac as the beta snuggled up to him for comfort. All the yelling wasn't good for the skittish kid.  
Derek noticed the interaction, but said nothing about it. Isaac was seeking a comfort that Derek could not provide. But it was interesting he chose Stiles as the one TO comfort. He'd have to ponder that later.  
"Well, if you all would shut up, I'll tell you." Derek met the eyes of everyone in the room, at last looking over at Peter, who was still smirking about what he had caused. Suppressing the urge to roll his eyes, Derek addressed the pack again. "It's quite simple, really. The wolves will hunt, and bring the kills back here. We will then cook the meat, or the humans will, and then we will feast, then we all, including the humans, will go nap in the Den."  
He wasn't talking about the study. When reconstructing the house, Derek had had fake caves put in underneath; one large room with several smaller ones off the main. It was for the pack, to make them feel more comfortable when their wolves acted up. The whole area was piled in cushions.  
"So. Any objections?"


	4. Knowledge and a Gift

It had never really been Peter's intention to completely frighten everyone, but he can't help the fact that he is kind of the bad guy of the group. Their token criminal, which always makes him smile. It's not like he WANTED to be that, the one everyone feared, but after his little stunts of the past year… he couldn't really blame them.

BUT he genuinely wanted to help. There was a hole inside where his family used to be. And though nothing could really fill the hole that was the remnants of his old life, having a new pack, belonging to this rag tag family, as it were, was a step in the right direction. So while he had originally denied his nephew's request for help with the initiation rights, and teaching the humans, he decided that to make this pack feel better, he would have to help.

Which is what he is trying to do now.

It's not working out very well.

He gets why the little red head is scared of him. And yes, he's still kind of a creeper, but he enjoys that role. And it is just a role. Just like Derek is in the role of grumpy-pants Alpha. And Stiles is in the role of clumsy-ass-human. That boy was seriously his favorite. Even more so with his agreement to go along with Peter teaching the humans. He wondered if the boy could really see through his mask, this role he was in. Wondered if the boy could see the play being written.

Or maybe not. It was hard to tell. And it was hard to get a read off of him. While the red head was all fire and lightning and wind, the boy was more like stone and tree and water. While he needed the firestarter to free himself, this pillar of safety was more what the pack needed.

And tonight? It was what the pack would get.

Stiles wondered how he ever got into this mess.

Okay, so he knew. He and Scott searched the woods for half a dead body, he got bitten, blah blah blah and here they were. But HOW in the name of curly fries did he end up HERE? In the Hale kitchen, elbow deep in peeling potatoes?

Well, Stiles could always blame Derek.

Derek, who for the past few months had been becoming closer to Stiles. Since the kanima had turned back into Jackson, things had settled down. That Alpha Pack had been in town to deal with—Peter. Well, the crazy Alpha that had been terrorizing the town, which at the time had been Peter. Who was now back from the grave and a beta, and not as creepy as he once was.

Stiles sighed and snuck a glance at Lydia, who looked disgusted at having to chop carrots. He hid a smile and continues to peel the potatoes, almost done. It was now around eleven in the morning. The wolves would leave at seven tonight to hunt, and until then, preparations for the 'feast' and knowledge were being done.

Which reminded Stiles that he was supposed to be listening to Peter, who was outlining details about human importance to the pack. He continued to peel the potatoes while turning his attention to what Peter was saying.

"—well, yes, humans are weaker than werewolves physically, but they help wolves more than anyone would thing. See, humans are the center of Pack. They are the precious entities that need to be protected, the are the ones that can use the herbs and things that drive wolves back, and they also tend to be the most caring mates." Peter had glanced over to Lydia, who snorted.

Peter grinned at the expression. "Well, sometimes. See, humans are the caretakers. While yes, wolves have the instincts to be nurturers, they often in turn need to be nurtured, because there is a point when every wolf needs to be calmed down. This is one of the reasons it is always good to have a magical human in the Pack, or at least, close to the pack—" Stiles is convinced that Peter is talking about Deaton, "—because it is usually them that can use said abilities to 'tame' the wolf. "

Stiles raised his hand. "Yes Stiles, In this moment we are talking about you. You, my fine human friend, are like… Oh, I'd say—Pack Mom?" A small chuckle went around the room, where everyone was busy with preparations for the feast. Wasn't JUST the humans getting this lesson. Stiles flushed, eyes flicking to Derek, who was also a bit pink around the ears. Huh.

But Peter was continuing, so Stiles turned back to him. "We'll have to set something up with Deaton for you, so you can learn this place better." Stiles nodded, still blushing.

Peter glanced up at Derek and raised an eyebrow. Derek nodded and took a step forward, pushing off from where he was leaning on the wall. All eyes turned to him. "As soon as you are done here, we're going to go prepare the Den, and then get some exercise in before tonight. I don't want any of you to pull a muscle while hunting."

There were some grumbles, some nods, and an eye roll from Stiles. Soon they were done and filing out of the kitchen. Derek stopped Stiles with a hand on his shoulder. Stop Stiles did, looking up curiously into the Alpha's eyes. "Did you want something?" he asked, noting that Derek looked a little nervous. No one who didn't know him well would be able to pick up on it.

Derek nodded. "I have something for you," he whispered and tugged Stiles upstairs into the library. A book was sitting out of place on his desk. Derek picked it up and paused, gazing at Stiles for a moment as though assessing him.

Stiles was a little concerned. About to ask what it was, Derek pushed the book against his chest. "For you…" He didn't meet Stiles' eyes, moving past the human and down to where the others were waiting.

Stiles looked after where he had gone, then looked at the book. It was old, worn, and bound in leather. Opening it, Stiles was surprised to see it was a book on werewolf lore. The thing was huge. He looked at some of the chapters and saw things like 'Mating Rites' and 'Scent Marking'. On the front cover was the Triskelion, the same symbol of the Hales.

Stiles ran his hand over the cover, thinking. This was a very visual and definite sign of Derek's trust. Everything that Stiles had ever asked about would be in this book.

After a moment, he rubbed his face, a small smile playing over his lips. The sour wolf does care, he thought.

Turning, Stiles made his way out of the library and down to the den, placing the book reverently in his own little alcove, seeing Derek's eyes shine in approval at the move. It just made him smile all the more.


End file.
